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An Aid Convoy Makes a Temporary Stop in Syria`s Capital; A Historic Battleship is Found in the Coral Sea; New Devices Aim to Monitor Home Water Usage

Aired March 7, 2018 - 04:00   ET


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. Give us 10 minutes, we`ll give you an explanation of news events happening around the world.

That includes what`s going on right now in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. For the first time in two weeks, a convoy of 46 trucks was able to

get in and out of eastern Ghouta. This is a suburb of eastern capital of Damascus. It`s an area controlled by a rebel group that`s fighting the

government in Syria`s ongoing civil war.

The rebels in eastern Ghouta have been surrounded for years and many of the civilians who are there, there are hundreds of thousands of them are

desperately in need of humanitarian aid, like food and medical supplies. A representative for the United Nations says the convoy was inside eastern

Ghouta for almost nine hours but that the trucks had to leave before they were all unloaded. Fighting was going on in the area at the time and nine

of the trucks returned still full of supplies.

A little over two weeks ago, Syrian government forces who are supported by Russia launched a major offensive in eastern Ghouta. Hundreds of people

have been killed since then. The Syrian government says that shells launched from rebels in eastern Ghouta had killed dozens of people in


This is supposed to be a de-escalation zone, a place where civilians won`t be targeted by anyone fighting in the war. But the violence is all around



JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There`s no sign of a ceasefire or that so-called humanitarian pause in fighting that was ordered by Russian

President Vladimir Putin in eastern Ghouta. The accounts that we`re getting from on the ground from activists and rescue groups, they say that

airstrikes and artillery shelling continue to pound different parts of that rebel-held territory.

Both sides are continuing to blame each other for the failure of any truce. You`ve got the regime on the one hand saying it is the rebel groups that

they described as terrorist groups operating in eastern Ghouta that are targeting the routes that would lead to the humanitarian corridor to sop

civilians from leaving so that they could continue to hold them as hostages and as human shields, according to the regime. On the other hand, the

rebels and the activists say it is the Russians and it is the regime who are continuing to carry out these strikes on different parts of this area,

including areas close to the humanitarian corridor.

When it comes to the civilians, the population in eastern Ghouta from what we`ve heard in the past few days, they say they don`t want to leave their

homes. They don`t want to leave the area. What they want is for the bombing to stop and for humanitarian aid to come in. With no end in sight

to the violence that we`re seeing in eastern Ghouta, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies are calling yet again, they`re still calling

for a ceasefire, they say, so they can deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid into the area and to evacuate those who are in urgent need

of medical attention, people -- a population that`s estimated to be about 400,000 people living in this area, under siege for nearly five years.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.


AZUZ: In the Coral Sea off the eastern coast of Australia, a U.S. battleship has been observed for the first time since it was sunk during

World War II. These are the remains of the USS Lexington, also known as Lady Lex. It`s one of the first aircraft carriers ever built and it took

part in what`s considered the first carrier battle, the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was an allied victory over the forces of Japan, even though the

USS Lexington eventually sank after being hit by a bombardment of Japanese torpedoes.

Other U.S. ships in the area were able to rescue more than 2,000 sailors from Lady Lex. Two hundred sixteen members of its crew were lost, along

with 35 aircraft that were aboard it.

The ship is relatively well-preserved, and because it`s considered a war grave by the U.S. Navy, it will not be raised from its resting place two

miles below the ocean surface. It was located by a team of explorers led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Schools in the U.S. state of West Virginia are expected to be back in session as early as Wednesday, following a nine-day strike by teachers and

school staff. It started on February 22nd when 20,000 teachers walked out of schools. They were demonstrating for higher wages and better benefits,

particularly concerning a state employee health insurance program.

The state`s governor, Jim Justice, agreed to set up a task force to look into that program. Meantime, he signed a bill on Tuesday that gives a 5

percent pay raise to all state employees. That includes teachers and school staff.

A state senator says it`s the largest pay raise in West Virginia`s history, and that it only paid for by reducing government spending on other

programs. Some state legislators are concerned about that. The National Education said before the pay raise that West Virginia ranked 48th out of

the 50 states in what it paid teachers.


AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which of these resources is considered to be a renewable resource?

Peat, sand, coal, or water?

The only renewable resource of these options is water because it`s constantly replenished through the rain cycle.


AZUZ: But that doesn`t mean there`s some endless supply of water to waste. It can become scarce in certain parts of the world as we`re seeing now in

Cape Town, South Africa, a drought-prone city that`s expected to run out of water this summer.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most of the water that Americans use, 24 percent of it, literally goes down the toilet.

Showers, faucets and washing machines combined used an additional 56 percent of water. But 12 percent of the Americans` water isn`t used at

all. It`s wasted through leaks.


RACHEL CRANE, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: In a smart home, there isn`t much you can`t control, but if you wanted to see how much water you use before

your bill arrives, there aren`t a lot of options.

I have no idea how much water I use on a daily basis. I mean, most people don`t, correct?


CRANE: So, tech startups are innovating new ways to help homeowners.

WATERS: We don`t make you put sensors all over your house. You just install Buoy in on place. So, this tells you today`s total water usage for

your home, compared to your seven-day average. It`s interesting to know your overall budget, but you want to know how you`re doing versus your


CRANE: Right. Like I you just tell me I uses X amount of gallons of water a day, I have no idea of that`s more or less.

WATERS: Right, or if that`s good or bad.

CRANE: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American family use more than 300 gallons of water a day. But in order to

cut back, you need to know exactly where you`re wasting water.

How does Buoy that it was the sink running and it wasn`t the toilet, it wasn`t the shower.

WATERS: So, we use machine learning and we gather information about water flow from a single point in your house along the water main and we send all

that information about water flow via Wi-Fi to our back end.

Most common leaks that we see are running toilets, broken sprinkler head. After that, it`s a lot of leak faucets and shower heads.

CRANE: Buoy isn`t the only device available to track the water loss. The Phyn device installs on your water main and monitors your water pressure.

If a catastrophe happens when you`re away, you can shut up your water with your phone.

While leaks can cause hundreds of dollars in damages and fees, these systems don`t come cheap. Buoy and Phyn will set you back over $800, and

that`s not including installation.

So, you`re talking earlier about how using the Buoy, you can reduce your water usage by 10 percent. How much money are you saving?

WATERS: So, if you live in an area that already has high water prices, you save -- by saving 10 percent, you save about $300 a year on your water


CRANE: For people looking to limit their environmental footprint, devices like these can play an important role in preserving a precious resource.


AZUZ: A hamburger chain in California is testing out a new kind of employee, a robot. It`s named Flippy and it flips burgers using cameras

and thermal sensors to know when exactly to flip them.

The company says Flippy helps keep the burgers more consistently cooked. Human employees are still involved, for now, in adding ingredients.

Flippy`s developer says it`s intended to be an extra hand in the kitchen and not intended to replace jobs, though it could potentially do that. But

it`s not cheap. Flippy starts at a minimum of $60,000.

Some might have beef and want to chuck it if the robot grinds (ph) in any problems. But if the restaurants have a mini budget and aren`t afraid of a

robot short-circuiting its assignment, maybe Flippy`s usefulness is just burgerning. At least no one will be asking, where`s the beef?

I`m Carl Azuz and your order is up on CNN 10.